


Echo of Summer

by Morgana



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-23
Updated: 2013-05-23
Packaged: 2017-12-12 09:08:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/809839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morgana/pseuds/Morgana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the winter of humanity, it's the simple things that spell out decadence</p>
            </blockquote>





	Echo of Summer

Cass was dreaming; he knew that from the second he felt a tender hand stroke through his hair. But unlike other nights that he suddenly found himself with unwanted company while he slept, he was too tired to fight. They'd just come back from a raid where sleep was snatched in ten and twenty minute spurts, and he was exhausted from the constant struggle to stay fed and warm and alive, and waking himself up would take precious energy that he really couldn't spare right now. Besides, this was only a dream, just like all the others. So when the silky voice purred, "Open for me, brother," he obeyed without thinking about it.  
  
He was rewarded with a mouthful of warm, sweet strawberries and cool, rich whipped cream. The flavors blended together in an exquisite symphony that rivaled anything ever written by Beethoven, and Cass moaned as he let it melt on his tongue, savoring the treat before he swallowed. How long had it been since he'd had real fruit? Or anything sweet? Or anything that  _didn't_  come from a can? Years, it had to be. Not since -  
  
But he didn't want to think about that now. If he did, he'd have to wake up, and right now he was far too comfortable to move or argue or do anything except lay back and allow himself to be petted and pampered like the spoiled lap dogs that used to be every rich woman's favorite status symbol. He opened for another bite without prompting, basking in the sheer indulgence of fresh fruit and sweet cream. It was summer on a spoon, the kind of sweet, lazy decadence that only belonged to the halcyon days of August, when the fruit had had time to ripen on the vine until it was lush and perfect, with a full-bodied flavor that the cream brought out to its fullest. It belonged to those last days of summer when there was nothing better to do than lounge in a lover's lap and wallow in in the dessert that was being fed to him one delicious bite at a time. Not that Cass knew anything about summer. Nobody did - not anymore.  
  
Winter had taken over his world almost four years ago, then spread out to the world at large not long after that. Everything had become gray and bleak and barren, and now the only place summer existed was in the memories of those who hadn't quite managed to let go of it. Dean Winchester wasn't one of those people. Cass was pretty sure Dean had forgotten summer ever existed, if he'd ever known about it in the first place. It was hard sometimes to recall that the grim, spare man who tortured demons and Croats alike with swift efficiency had once been one of the most hedonistic beings Cass had ever known, second only to Gabriel in his love of sweets and indulgence in every vice known to man.  
  
At the thought of his lost brother, he was tempted to ask about him, to see if there was any news, but then decided that he didn't want to know. Rather than hear the words he knew he wasn't ready for, Cass opened for another bite instead, listening to the soft chuckle above him, a musical sound that made warmth spread through his entire body. "Like a baby bird," his brother's voice teased him gently, fingers carding carefully through his hair. "A sweet, helpless little bird."  
  
"Not helpless," he muttered around the strawberries. Not that it mattered - they both knew the truth. He was practically human now, and that was the very definition of helpless.  
  
There was no immediate answer and Cass didn't prod for one, just surrendered to the careful press of the spoon against his lips. He lost track of time, his whole world narrowed to the exquisite blend of strawberries and cream. Eventually, however, his brother sighed. "You should wake up soon," he said, although from the way his hand stroked Cass' head, he was in no more hurry to have him go than Cass was to leave.  
  
Wake up. To what? A world that was cold and barren, made bearable only by his brother's gifts of alcohol and pills, a steady supply of them that dulled the edges of the hard, unforgiving world outside, blurring reality enough to make it tolerable. It would never be more than that, not when his heart longed for Heaven - and Lucifer. "Don't wanna," he muttered petulantly, trying to burrow into the warmth of his brother's body until the hand in his hair stopped him, tightening just enough to let him know that he wasn't supposed to move.  
  
"You know how this works," he reminded him. "Unless you're ready to come with me for good, in which case you can have this anytime you want it..."  
  
It was a powerful temptation. To go from winter to summer, from the forbidding, frozen company of his human commander to the welcome warmth of his angelic brother's embrace. It seemed like with every dream visitation, he was having more and more trouble remembering why he had to continue to say no. "I can't." Not yet, he told himself. It might be hubris to believe he was needed, but Cass couldn't bring himself to turn his back on his friends. Not while Dean was still alive, at any rate. Maybe after -  
  
He shook his head, a small furrow appearing between his brows. "I can't," he repeated.  
  
"I know." Lucifer's voice was quiet, sorrow ringing in the words.  
  
"Will you still -?"  
  
"Of course." Cass opened his eyes and had only a second to look up into Sam Winchester's eyes before Lucifer bent to kiss him and he woke up, torn from his dream of love and splendor before he was ready. He stared up at the moldy ceiling above him, then reached out blindly for one of the fresh bottles he already knew would be waiting for him next to his bed.


End file.
